Fintiri And The Looming Fascism In Adamawa

By ARAFAT D. AHMED 

A looming anarchy is currently brewing in Adamawa whose outcome may spell doom to the good people of the state unless the people rise to the occasion and save Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri from himself.

Fintiri's over bloated ego and new sense of entitlement which broods no dissention and contrary political views will surely rock the ship of Adamawa State in no distant future.

The governor has recently become a smoking gun firing from all cylinders aiming at anyone he perceives to  have worked against his governorship ambition using the resources and powers of the state which the good people of Adamawa gave him on a platter of gold.

Fintiri who once removed a sitting governor and his deputy has become so paranoid and morbidly afraid of losing the governorship seat he is currently occupying to the extent that he is now becoming a substantial threat and public enemy to the good people of Adamawa State.

His recent vengeful actions towards real and perceived enemies despite winning the governorship election indicate that the governor does not believe in the spirit of sportsmanship enshrined in any competitive endeavour.

In any democratic contest, winners are expected to be magnanimous in victory, while losers are expected to accept their fate with grace and equanimity. But while the losers have since embraced the pathway of peace and sportsmanship, by either throwing in the towel or embracing the legal option, Fintiri who should become a rallying point at this critical time is obsessed with a spirit of vengeance.

It appears that in the aftermath of the polls, Fintiri has overtly developed a mental complex of "me versus them" which means if you are perceived to work against his governorship ambition, your future is bleak and you stand being labeled as the enemy of the state who deserves crucifixion.

The governor's seeming metamorphosis into an emperor after a keenly contested election is a misnomer. A situation in which the governor becomes the problem rather than the solution is to say the least disturbing.

The recent turn of events in Adamawa has become a subject of discussion in many social circles. Some elders and leaders of Adamawa State have shown concerns over the way the governor is derailing but with his uncompromising position, they are too afraid to speak to him for the fear of being tagged "enemies of progress" which price is costly.

The recent outbursts of the Director General Media and Communications to Governor Fintiri, Solomon Kumangar while responding to a statement made by the member representing Toungo, Ganye, Jada and Mayo Belwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Abdulrazak Namdas will readily come into context.

Namdas' only reproach is his courage to celebrate the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner of the state (REC) Hudu Ari, who he said was highly misunderstood and will one day be celebrated for his boldness to save democracy in Adamawa.

Symptomatic of the mindset of Fintiri and his foot soldiers, without prompting, Kumangar started spewing fire and brimstone against Namdas for airing his views.

The legislative arm of government where Namdas belongs is the bastion of democracy. It is therefore, childish for some charlatans to think they can stop a ranking legislature from airing his views.

Unfortunately, Fintiri's hounds and attack dogs led by Kumangar seemed to lack the capacity and deportment to understand or even internalize this simple fact. 

Fintiri's attack dogs should tell Nigerians which detention center or prison house Hudu is being incarcerated despite the negative and prolific media hype they launched against him for doing what is right. The fact that Hudu is walking a freeman is a pointer to his innocence because if he had committed a crime, he would have been in detention by now.

Is it a public knowledge that the team of investigators and forensic experts assigned to investigate Hudu could not find Hudu guilty of deliberate distortion of facts or circumventing the law for declaring Binani winner of the governorship election in Adamawa State. Based on that, they have no business in detaining him further and therefore, had to release him on self recognition.

So where did Kumangar find good reason for challenging and insulting Hon. Namdas for saying the simple truth about the Hudu? If Kumangar has any sense of decency or responsibility, he should retract his baseless article and issue a public apology to Namdas.

When did it became a sin in a democratic setting for someone to say his mind? Will it not amount to anarchy if people are barred from ventilating their concerns? What is the future of democracy if executive power holders become so power drunk to the extent of emasculating the right of people to express themselves? Is freedom of expression not a cardinal principle of democracy? The questions go ad infinitum.

But as the driver of the new culture of impunity and disrespect for people's fundamental rights to freedom of expression and association, Fintiri ostensibly set the tone for the weaponization of violence in the state and that is why his lackeys and hangers on felt no qualms to vilify real and perceived enemies at will.

When he was declared as the governor elect by INEC, Christians in the state went on a wild jubilation spree in the process, they offended other religions, but not a whimper of caution was heard from Fintiri because those who are behind the nauseating action belong to the constituency of his core supporters.

In fact it will come to many as surprise if Fintiri rebuked his agents provocateurs since from all intents and purposes they are carrying out his instructions.

God saved what would have turned a bloody election eve because Muslims through a rare display of resilience, perseverance, maturity, composure and decorum called the bluff of the trouble merchants.

It was not surprising that the governor seems to have recently up his ante by taking rash and imperious actions further against those who in his estimation refused to support his governorship ambition.

The governor has already sacked about seven district heads including the district head of his own local government area on account of their refusal to support his aspiration. But unknown to the governor such a rash action only exposed his unpopularity because if the district head of his community could summon the courage to reject him, it means the putrid stench surrounding him is simply unbearable.

What the governor fail to realize as he prosecute this devilish script is that in every action, there is equal reaction. By his actions the governor has shown the world that he has weeded out district heads who are sympathetic to APC. What did the governor think will happen if the APC candidate wins her court case and emerges the governor of the state?

If the APC governorship candidate is as vindictive as he is, what does he think will happen to those traditional rulers whom he unwittingly exposed as pro APC.

It is the height of recklessness for the governor to expose our revered traditional leadership to the vulnerability and susceptibility of political partisanship.

In conclusion, it is incumbent to remind Kumangar of the futility of what he is doing. In the history of mankind, people make heroes or villains from the way they adjudge their conduct. That is why one man's hero is another man's villain. 

Namdas is among the thousands of Nigerians who based on perception made hero out of Hudu, Kumangar can also make a villain out of him. But to attack someone for airing his views is the height of reckless brinkmanship.

I come in peace.

Ahmed writes from Abuja.